


Until the very last day.

by dahyunayeon



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Major character death - Freeform, Post-Apocalypse, Soulmates, im not sure what to trigger warn this but yeah it's Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24567667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dahyunayeon/pseuds/dahyunayeon
Summary: The world ended before Dahyun could tell Chaeyoung how she felt.
Relationships: Kim Dahyun/Son Chaeyoung
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	Until the very last day.

**Author's Note:**

> this has been in my drafts for six months and you got the bad luck i decided to post it today.

_ Day 296 _

_ Dear Chaeyoung, _

_ I saw a bird this morning. It was standing on my windowsill sheltering itself from the rain. I honestly don't know how it managed to make it this far; it's been at least four months since I last saw a bird. _

_ It gives me a bit of hope. _

_ Like the bird, I hope you can keep safe. _

_ Yours until the very last day, _

_ Dahyun. _

There's a leak in her roof. Dahyun sits on a mattress on the floor, in the corner of the musty room, and stares at the droplets falling from her ceiling and splashing against the wooden floor.

A small black circle has begun to form where the drops fall. There's no point in putting a bucket underneath, Dahyun has learned that much. It will only melt the plastic as well and the smell will be awful. 

Eyes still fixed on the drops, Dahyun stretches her hand out towards her right and fetches a box of cereal bars. She grabs a crumpled wrapper out and takes what's remaining of the bar. Maybe one fourth of its size. Dahyun has to ration what she has left.

The sound of her chewing the stale cereal drowns out the sound of the drops hitting the floor, but other than that it's dead quiet.

Dahyun's been staying in this apartment for about a week now. Her house couldn't resist the onslaught that was the rain when it first started; her roof burned down after the first week. But Dahyun managed to get out and the rain stopped for long enough to let her find safe shelter before starting again. 

Switching between houses of her neighborhood, garages and apartments, Dahyun managed to survive. She had been doing the same for months, and she had managed to move pretty far.

Eighty five percent of her city's population cannot say the same thing.

The annoying leak is enough for Dahyun to know this shelter, like all the others before, has no use anymore. It's stupid, really, because there's like six floors above Dahyun's yet there's still a  _ fucking leak _ . And judging from the wet patch on the white paint, it's only a matter of time before the whole structure starts collapsing. 

Dahyun packs her stuff up; it all fits in one single backpack so it doesn't take her long. She has three shirts, one hoodie and a pair of jeans: five socks (not pairs, but socks. She lost one along the way), and her worn out sneakers. 

Then there's her journal, her most precious possession from even before everything went to shit. A pencil she found a few weeks ago, a bunch of lighters, a blanket, a flashlight and her box of cereal bars. There's one bar left.

The building has mold all over the walls and the carpets stink, the smallest cockroach is the size of Dahyun's thumb. Dahyun wants to know their secret on how to survive apocalypses.

Through the dirty window Dahyun can see it's stopped raining, and reasons water must have accumulated on the top floors from the rain the night prior. A few rays of sunshine break through the clouds, shining down on the destroyed streets. They're weak but persistent, letting Dahyun see all the particles floating in the air. Particles of what, she's not sure, all she knows is that they make her throat and nose burn.

And on the horizon, not too far from where Dahyun is, she can see the mountains of concrete the earthquake left behind. All of those tall buildings from the big city fell in a whim the second the earth started cracking, burying everyone underneath tons of cement, glass and wires, separating the north side of the city from the south.

Separating Dahyun from Chaeyoung.

And farther, even darker than the clouds above Dahyun, are clouds of smoke emanating from the collapsed nuclear plants, still thick and persistent as ever, blowing radiation to the atmosphere. 

Sometimes, alone in the immensity of the city, Dahyun feels like it’s  _ her  _ city. She hasn’t seen another person in months; sometimes she talks alone just to hear someone; she thinks out loud, sings... 

She starts walking towards the concrete barrier, as she's been doing for months now.

She thought it'd be easier, reaching the other side. It normally took her about an hour on the bus to go from the city to her parents' house, an hour and a half to get there from her college dorm.

Before leaving her house she told herself she'd be there in a week. That was forty two weeks ago. She practically strolls through the deserted streets. She doesn't have the energy anymore, she ends up exhausted if she has to walk even slightly faster than usual and her vision gets blurry.

Dahyun leaves places in the morning and stops once the sun sets— if it doesn’t rain. She can't afford to waste any more time than the one the rain already takes away from her.

She's getting closer to what's left of the city center, the outskirts of what once was the heart of the city. The remains that didn't get crushed by bigger buildings. But the clouds are getting too dark and the cold wind blowing against Dahyun's skin is making her itch; not to mention breathing has become hard.

Her shelter for the night is an old electronics store. There's still some led lights on that no one must've bothered to turn off before running away. The colors dance over the walls of the dark room and shine on Dahyun’s face..

She settles for sleeping at the back of the store, as far away from the entrance as possible, tucked in the bottom shelf of a stand. Just in case the ceiling gives in. 

It's dark save for the lights (she didn't think I'd be correct to turn them off. They're surviving, just like her). She coughs, and her throat stings. She needs to find more water.

It's started to rain, she can feel the water hitting the roof. She closes her eyes and pretends she's anywhere else. The lights shine even through closed eyelids.

As she tries to sleep, Dahyun clenches her fist, fingernails digging on her skin.

On the palm of her right hand, etched into her skin, is a white daisy, with a yellow center and outlined in black. It looks like a tattoo, but every time Dahyun presses her thumb against it a warm feeling runs over her body towards her heart. She doesn't need to see it to know it's there— she always feels it —but she always finds herself staring at it when she feels troubled. Which lately is more often than not.

It's still as vivid as the day it showed up on her 18th birthday nine months ago. Hasn't faded one bit, much like Dahyun's feelings. Nothing could tarnish either one.

Except one thing, but Dahyun chooses not to think about it. 

_ I wonder what your mark is gonna be.  _

_ Night 297 without you. _

_ - _

_ The bass makes her chest boom along to the beat of the song. Although the beating of her heart could rival the speakers easily, so she’s not sure which one it is. _

_ Dahyun shifts on her feet, glass in her hand as she stares at the dance floor. Chaeyoung's been dancing for a while now, sometimes completely ignoring the rhythm of the song and moving as she pleases.  _

_ And Dahyun's been watching, unable to go talk to her best friend. She takes another sip and turns around, but the colorful lights shining all around hit her on the eyes and she flinches.  _

_ She goes back to the table with all the drinks and squints, trying to see what's what. The flashing lights let her see, kind off, but the colors make everything confusing.  _

_ A body collides against hers and she stumbles forward, spilling some of the drink she had been pouring herself. _

_ "Hey! Be careful-" Dahyun's sentence dies in her throat when she meets Chaeyoung's eyes, her face centimeters apart from her own. Her eyes are dilated and she's a bit sweaty, stumbling, so Dahyun grabs her by the waist to stabilize her. _

_ "You don't like the music?" Chaeyoung grins at Dahyun and snatches her glass, taking a big gulp before putting it back on the table.  _

_ "I don't dance, you know that." _

_ "It's my birthday! You can't  _ not  _ dance at least one song with me."  _

_ Chaeyoung's arms loop around Dahyun's neck. She gives pleading eyes to her friend, sparkly from the lights and the alcohol.  _

_ "One song, and that's it." _

_ They dance to a fast song, but they do it slowly. Dahyun doesn't know what she's doing, she's letting Chaeyoung guide her. Party Rock is playing but they have their foreheads pressed against each other, Chaeyoung's arms on Dahyun's neck and Dahyun's hands shyly holding onto Chaeyoung's waist. _

_ People are staring at them, but it's Chaeyoung's birthday and she can do whatever she wants. The younger girl closes her eyes and sways them side to side. Dahyun gulps, cheeks hot and red. She can only stare, hoping to keep this image with her forever. _

_ - _

_ Day 297 _

_ Dear Chaeyoung, _

_ Even in a world devoid of color everything reminds me of you..  _

_ I miss you. _

_ And I don't think I can ever forgive myself for the night of your 17th birthday. Of all the things I should've done, I did none. _

_ I should've held you closer, kissed you. I shouldn't have let you go when the song ended, because after that I could not grab your attention for the rest of the night. _

_ Now I wonder if I'll ever get the chance again. _

_ Yours until the very last day, _

_ Dahyun. _

When Dahyun wakes up the next morning, the rain hasn't stopped. 

Her day is spent going through what's left in the store for anything she could use, and it turns out to be effective when she finds a walkman and a pair of headphones.

Excited, she looks through the cds in the back. She doesn't know all of the artists, but there's one that catches her eye. 

It was one of Chaeyoung's favorites, she’s seen that same CD in Chaeyoung’s room multiple times _.  _ Dahyun looks at the cover and then the back, reading the tracklist. It has Chaeyoung's favorite song.

She puts it in her bag along with all the batteries she can find. It's been so long since she's listened to music, but the rain is stopping and she doesn't want to stay there for longer than necessary. 

It takes her little more than three hours to reach a shopping mall. Most of the building managed to survive the tragedy, much like herself. The roofs are still holding up well from what Dahyun can see as she stares up, roaming the different stores and the food court. The mall is logically the best option for shelter during the end of the world, wouldn't you think? But as soon as it all started it was raided and people fought over who had more right to stay there. As if it wasn't big enough for everyone there at the time. 

There's still some bodies scattered around, mostly in the food areas.  _ Serves them right _ , Dahyun thinks. That's what they get for behaving like animals. They were supposed to collaborate and pull through it all together, but they ended up slaughtering each other.

Eighty five percent of the population died, yes. Sixty percent due to the actual apocalypse. Twenty five due to people being horrible beings, not a trace of humanity left in them.

_ Serves us right.  _

Dahyun finds some food and drinks left in the cinema shop. Stale popcorn has never made her so happy. She grabbed as much as she could and moved to the playground area. The trampoline there would make for a great bed.

As she rests her head on her folded arms, covered with her blanket, she feels tiny, alone in such a big building. In such a big city. Such a big world.

Dahyun pulls the walkman out of her bag; she sets it up and places the cd inside. She doesn't recognize the first song, but she listens to it anyway, foot tapping against the air. 

She closes her eyes and enjoys the sound of a voice other than her own. It feels nice.

But then Chaeyoung's song comes up, and before she knows it Dahyun is sobbing, choking up on her own saliva as her throat closes up and all the calm she had felt vanishes, anguish filling her instead. She covers her eyes with her hands, tears wetting the mark on her palm. 

_ I would give anything to hear you sing again. To hear your voice calling my name. _

_ Night 298 without you _

_ - _

_ Dahyun's birthday party is completely different from Chaeyoung's. She wouldn't even call it a party, it's more of a simple get together at her house with a bunch of friends. _

_ Technically, it's not her birthday yet, there's still an hour left until the 28th. And she's not exactly looking forward to it.  _

_ They're eating pizza in the living room and Chaeyoung is arguing with Gahyeon over what songs they should play. In the end, Chaeyoung wins and she gets to play her playlist through Dahyun's expensive speakers. _

_ "I don't know why you have these if you never have parties. If I had them, my whole neighborhood would hate me." Chaeyoung tells her as she inspects all the buttons the device has. Dahyun only shrugs, not sure what to reply. _

_ The clock is inching closer and closer to twelve. Five minutes until Dahyun turns eighteen. Until her soulmate mark shows on her skin.  _

_ Dahyun gets up with the excuse of getting some air, although no one in the room pays her much attention. Chaeyoung stops her before she leaves the room; she lifts her hand in the air and Dahyun knows she wants them to do their handshake. Dahyun's not sure what prompted her to do it out of nowhere, but she lifts her right hand and does it anyway, as always with a smile.  _

_ She goes to the balcony and takes a deep breath. Two minutes left and her hand is starting to itch. She closes her eyes and waits for it to happen. _

_ The clock strikes twelve and Dahyun feels her hand burning slightly, like when you hold onto a hot mug of coffee; but it doesn't really hurt. Once it's over, Dahyun opens her hand slowly, almost afraid of what she might find there. Maybe it has nothing to do with Chaeyoung, and she doesn't really know what she would do if that was the case. _

_ But she breathes out in relief when she sees the daisy. The same one Chaeyoung draws on all her notes, the same one on her backpack, the same one she doodles on Dahyun's skin when she's bored. The exact same one drawn on the journal Chaeyoung gifted Dahyun for her birthday. _

_ However, her relief doesn't last for long. The door behind her opens abruptly; Dahyun stays facing the other way, she doesn't need to turn around to know it's Chaeyoung standing there.  _

_ Now that the door is open, she can hear the song playing inside. _

_ Come turn off your radio and let's go dancing _

_ There's far too much to see to stay inside _

_ What's the use in sleeping when the world could crumble _

_ So just sit back and please enjoy your ride _

_ "'Cause life just feels so breezy," Chaeyoung takes a step forward and closes the door. She keeps on singing as she approaches Dahyun by the edge of the balcony. Dahyun clenches her fist, keeping her mark to herself. Chaeyoung nods at her, expecting her to continue the lyrics. _

_ "Comfortable and easy." Dahyun rolls her eyes playfully, and turns around to face Chaeyoung. Her friend tilts her head to the side as she looks at Dahyun with a special glimmer in her eyes.  _

_ "Happy birthday." Chaeyoung hugs Dahyun and rests her chin on her shoulder. Dahyun wraps her arms around Chaeyoung's body. Her hand tingles when she rubs it over Chaeyoung's back, but the girl doesn't seem to notice anything. "Now come join us, would you? Everyone's dying to give you your birthday kiss." _

_ Chaeyoung leads Dahyun back inside, keeping her close with a side hug. _

_ "Especially Gahyeon," Chaeyoung winks and Dahyun feels something unsettling in her stomach. "She has a crush on you."  _

_ "You've told me already." Dahyun mutters under her breath, but her words are drowned out by everyone in the living room yelling happy birthday. _

_ - _

_ Day 298 _

_ Dear Chaeyoung, _

_ Everyone kissed me but you. I never got the guts to ask why, and now I might never know.  _

_ The only kiss I wanted was yours.  _

_ Yours until the very last day, _

_ Dahyun. _

_ - _

_ Day 305 _

_ Dear Chaeyoung, _

_ If everything goes well, today I will be reaching the barrier. I have no idea how tall it actually is, or how I’m going to cross over. But I’m gonna, whatever it takes. _

_ I can’t wait to hug you. _

_ Yours until the very last day, _

_ Dahyun. _

Turns out, it was way bigger than Dahyun could’ve imagined. It was a rather gentle slope, but the size of a ten story building. Standing in front of it, Dahyun feels the most insignificant she’s ever felt. 

The concrete wall separates her from Chaeyoung, but to be honest she doesn’t know what else awaits her on the other side. 

If she’s kept a good track of the days, that means Chaeyoun’s birthday is in a week. Her eighteenth birthday, where she’ll get her soulmate mark. Dahyun will be damned if she isn’t there to see it. 

She starts climbing.

The sharp concrete has been soaking in radioactive water for almost a year now, so the second Dahyun tries to hold onto a piece of it her hand burns. She desperately checks the palm and breathes in a sigh of relief when she sees that despite the reddened skin, the mark is still there, clear and strong. 

Dahyun grabs her clothes from her bag and wraps them around her hands tightly. She tries to cover as much skin as possible, but the nuclear waste emanating from the wall makes it hard to keep her eyes open. 

Still, she tries again. The clothes won’t resist for the whole trip up, but Dahyun just needs to get to the top. The sky is clear today, so she doesn’t worry too much about the rain, but it’s still a lingering problem in the back of her mind. Her knees and elbows get scrapped, and her neck is starting to itch, but she keeps going. 

At one point, maybe ten meters up, the surface is flat enough for her to walk without needing to hold onto anything. Her legs feel beyond weak and she has to make an inhuman effort to keep both eyes open.

Then, a piercing pain stings her hand. Dahyun screams and falls to her knees. The tears make it even more difficult to see. She desperately removes the shirt to check on her mark. For the first time in a year, she can’t feel the comforting warmth. Instead, bile rises up in her throat and it feels as if her skin was being burnt off. 

The mark is fading away like ink on water. Dahyun knows it’s not the radiation, the rest of her skin is still there— mostly. She shakes her head as her tears fall down and wet the concrete below her knees. She grabs her palm and rubs, thinking she can somehow get it to stay. 

Chaeyoung made it this far, she couldn’t have possibly died now. Not before her birthday. Not before Dahyun got to her. 

The pain Dahyun feels is indescribable. She doesn’t even mind the radiation burning through her clothes and melting her skin. The pain in her heart— it literally feels as if it was being torn apart, muscle by muscle. 

Dahyun’s body gives in and she falls face first into the concrete. She turns onto her back with a groan and lifts her hand up and, despite the darkness starting to surround her vision, she sees the last remains of the mark fade from her skin.

There’s no room for doubt. Dahyun knows it’s exactly what she’s thinking.

Chaeyoung is gone.

She’s gone, and Dahyun didn’t get to say goodbye. She didn’t get to kiss her, or tell her just how much she loved her. She never got to show Chaeyoung her mark, and she never got to see hers. 

She will die wondering what Chaeyoung’s mark was. If they were fated to be together or if she had been so unlucky to get that mark while Chaeyoung got someone else. 

Dahyun closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Or tries to, at least. It’s difficult to breathe. She lets her hand fall onto her chest, right over her frantic heart. Her ears feel as if they were full of water. There’s blood coming out of them and wetting the concrete, but Dahyun doesn’t see that. She can’t see anything anymore.

In her last moment of consciousness, the last seconds in which she can feel herself drifting away, she thinks of Chaeyoung.

Dahyun thinks of all the times she almost confessed, all the times they almost kissed. She thinks of Chaeyoung’s smile.

A last sigh leaves her lips, and she dies with a smile. Even if she couldn’t do many things and died with many regrets, at least she kept her most important promise.

**Author's Note:**

> sorry. you can yell at me on twitter (@dahyunayeon) or annonymously if you want on curiouscat (same username).


End file.
